Mounting arrangement for oven liner



y 8, 1968 H. SCHMAHL MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT FOR OVEN LINER Filed May 24,1966 United States Patent 3,385,280 MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT FOR OVEN LINERHenry Schmahl, Springfield Township, Mansfield County, Ohio, assignor toWestinghouse Electric Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania Filed May 24, 1966, Ser. No. 552,449 Claims. (Cl. 126-19)This invention relates to an arrangement for mounting an oven liner in acooking range, particularly a range of the character adapted to undergoheat cleaning of the oven. The principal purpose of the mountingarrangement is to provide physical support for the front of the linerand to provide a thermal break between the oven liner and the rangebody.

It is required, as a practical matter, that ovens which are heated to ahigh temperature for the purpose of heat cleaning have the oven linermounted in the range body in such a manner that conduction of heat fromthe oven liner to the range body is restricted to a substantial degree.

An object of the present invention is the provision o a mountingarrangement in which the oven liner is adequately supported adjacent itsfront opening from the range body, and which also provides aninexpensive, but effective, thermal break which limits the rate of heatconduction from the oven liner to the range body supporting the ovenliner.

While the invention is applicable to ovens installed in various ways,the invention will be described in connection with a free standingrange.

A typical range which may incorporate the invention includes meansdefining a forwardly-open cavity adapted to receive therectangular-box-shaped oven liner therein. The oven liner includes anoutwardly-projecting peripheral flange adapted to seat upon structure atthe throat of the range body cavity when the oven liner is installed andpulled rearwardly by fastening means connecting the rear end of the ovenliner to the range body.

In accordance with my invention, it is contemplated that helical springmeans encircling the oven liner adjacent the back face of the peripheralflange of the oven liner serve as the means to space and support theoven liner from the range body throat and at the same time provide asubstantial degree of thermal isolation of the liner structure from therange body structure. Preferably, a generally rectangular adaptor collaris provided between the helical spring and the oven liner peripheralflange. The adaptor collar is contoured in cross-section so that itsouter peripheral edge bears against the border of the opening of therange body, and another portion of the adaptor collar provides a seatfor a portion of the circumference of the helical spring means. Thehelical spring may be installed under slight tension initially with theopposite ends thereof hooked together to hold it in place while the ovenliner is being installed. The coils of the spring may be spaced apart asubstantial degree and still provide relatively uniform support for theentire periphery of the oven liner front flange. The circularconfiguration of the spring coils limits the degree of contact betweenthe oven liner and the adaptor collar, in the preferred embodiment, topoint contact and limited line contact. Accordingly, the total area ofcontact through which conduction of heat can take place is greatlylimited.

A preferred embodiment of my invention as incorporated in a typical freestanding range will be described in connection with the accompanyingdrawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded isometric view of the basic structure of a rangeincorporating the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view, corresponding to onetaken along the line IIII of FIG. 1, showing the connection of the backwall of the oven liner :30 3118 range body after installation of theliner in the FIG. 3 is an isometric sectional view corresponding to onetaken along the line IIIIII of FIG. 1 and with the parts in theirinstalled relationship;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary isometric view of one corner portion of theadaptor collar illustrating the provision of slots in the adaptor collarfor increasing the thermal isolation of the liner and range body; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, partly-broken view of the spring means and asleeve therefor.

As shown in FIG. 1, the exterior appearance of the range body 10 issubstantially conventional and includes front wall structure 12 providedwith a rectangular opening 14 defined by an inset border 16 andrearwardly directed flange 18.

The oven liner 20 is of generally rectangular-box-shape and issubstantially enclosed on all sides except for the front opening 22which is framed by an outwardly-directed peripheral flange 34. Each ofthe opposite vertical side Walls 24 of the liner has an apertured, smallflat bracket 26 welded to its rear portion. The aperture of the bracketreceives the end of a hook bolt 28 after the liner is placed in therange body. The liner is pulled toward the rear of the range by the boltso that the front of the liner seats firmly in its proper location. FIG.2 illustrates the relationship of the liner rear corner edges, thebracket 26, the hook bolt 28, and the vertical rear wall 30 of the rangebody through which the hook projects. A nut 32 is turned onto thethreaded ends of the hook bolts to draw the liner firmly into a seatedposition.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention an adaptor collar generallydesignated 36 (FIGS. 1, 3 and 4) is provided. The collar is in the formof a generally rectangular frame which seats between the oven linerfront and the range body cavity throat in the finished product. Theadaptor collar is of generally S-shape in lateral crosssection througheach of its four sides. The inner margin 38 (FIG. 3) provides agenerally forwardly facing concave surface against which the back sidecircumferential portion of the helical spring 40 seats. The outer margin42 of the adaptor collar curves in an opposite direction from the innermargin and is preferably provided with a slightly rearwardly-directededge flange 44 which seats against the range body inset margin 16. Thecontact between the adaptor collar and the margin 16 of the range bodyis thus limited to line contact.

As shown in FIG. 4, a series of spaced slots 46 extending lengthwise ofthe sides of the adaptor collar may be used to further thermally isolatethe liner from the body by reducing the heat conduction through theadaptor collar. The slots may be spaced non-uniformly in accordance withthe parts of the range body which normally have the highest temperaturerise.

The helical spring 40 used in the currently preferred embodiment of theinvention is a single length, steel helical spring having coils of about3 inch in diameter with the spring coils pulled apart to provide a pitchof about A inch between adjacent coils. The single length of spring iswrapped about the liner and the ends hooked together where they meet asat point 48 shown in FIG. 5. Primarily for the purpose of obstructingany view of the spring coils, and to some extent assisting in reductionof heat transfer, a glass cloth sleeve 50 is slipped over the springbefore installation.

The parts of FIG. 1 are installed by first wrapping the helical spring40 around the periphery of the oven liner and hooking the ends as at 48.The helical spring may be sized so that at this time there is slighttension in the spring to maintain it in place around the oven liner.Then the adaptor collar 36 is slipped onto the oven liner from the rearand the liner and collar are slid into the range 3 body cavity 14. Thehook bolts 28 are applied to pull the assembly tightly into place. As isbest shown in FIG. 3, a flanged edge of the outer marginal portion ofthe adaptor collar seats against the inset portion 16 of the range bodyfront opening border. The spring seats be tween the opposing concavefaces defined by the inner marginal portion 38 of the adaptor collar andthe oppositely facing concave face presented by the liner flange 34 andthe liner walls. It will be apparent from FIG. 3 that point and linecontact of a limited degree exists between the spring coils and theirengaging structure with this arrangement. To the extent that the glasssleeve 50 is interposed between certain contact locations which would bemetal-to-metal otherwise, the glass sleeve does not increase the extentof the contact.

The illustrated arrangement is the currently preferred arrangement asembodied in commercial devices. Alternate designs utilizing the helicalspring concept may Well be devised within the scope of the invention.For example, redesign of the border of the front opening of the rangebody to receive one circumferential portion of the helical spring in aseat, and modifying the configuration of the peripheral flange 34 of theoven liner would permit the elimination of the intermediate adaptorcollar. An example of the modification in an opposite sense would be theprovision of an additional helical spring to seat between the opposingfaces of the adaptor collar and the range body.

It will be appreciated that a number of advantages are available with anarrangement according to the invention. For example, the arrangementprovides mechanical support and spacing between the range body and ovenliner with relatively limited conductive contact. The support providedis uniform around the entire periphery of the front opening. The helicalspring arrangement lends itself to variation in spacings of the coils inaccordance with design requirements dictated by particular ovens.Additionally, the invention permits the design of the parts to take aform which substantially hides the helical spring portion withoutimpairing its function.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an oven:

oven cabinet means encompassing a forwardly-open cavity adapted toreceive an oven liner therein;

a forwardly-open oven liner sized to be received within said cavity withthe forward portion of said liner located generally in the throat ofsaid cabinet means cavity, said liner including outwardlyprojectingperipheral flange means bordering said liner from opening; and

helical spring means disposed between said oven liner peripheral flangeand said oven cabinet cavity throat physically support said liner atsaid throat, and to provide a thermal break between said liner and saidoven cabinet means.

2. In an oven according to claim 1:

a peripheral collar disposed between said liner flange and said ovencabinet front opening border, said collar being contoured incross-section to form a seat against which a portion of thecircumference of said spring means bears.

3. In an oven according to claim 2:

said collar is generally S-shaped in lateral cross-section the concaveface of one portion thereof serving as said seat, with an edge of theother portion thereof engaging said oven cabinet means.

4. In an oven according to claim 2:

said spring means comprises a single helical spring of a length adaptedto encircle said oven liner with the ends of said spring meansconnecting to place said spring means under slight tension forinstallation.

5. In an oven of heat cleaning character in which an oven liner issupported within oven cabinet means with the forward portion of the ovenliner supported from means bordering the front opening of the ovencabinet in which the oven liner is situated, the improvement comprising:

helical spring means encircling a forward portion of said oven liner andseating against said forward portion of said oven liner to space saidforward portion of said oven liner from said border of said oven cabinetmeans and provide a heat break between said oven liner and said ovencabinet means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,280,814 10/1966 Davenport126-19 3,327,094 6/1967 Martin et al 126l9 X FREDERICK KETTERER, PrimaryExaminer.

1. IN AN OVEN: OVEN CABINET MEANS ENCOMPASSING A FORWARDLY-OPEN CAVITYADAPTED TO RECEIVE AN OVEN LINER THEREIN; A FORWARDLY-OPEN OVEN LINERSIZED TO BE RECEIVED WITHIN SAID CAVITY WITH THE FORWARD PORTION OF SAIDLINER LOCATED GENERALLY IN THE THROAT OF SAID CABINET MEANS CAVITY, SAIDLINER INCLUDING OUTWARDLY-PROJECTING PERIPHERAL FLANGE MEANS BORDERINGSAID LINER FRONT OPENING; AND